The study intervention will consist of reminders delivered via a smartphone medication reminder application at the time a dose of medication is due. The application to be used is Dosecast (copyright 2011, Montuno Software, LLC) which is publicly available for purchase through the App Store. Participant compensation for study participation will take into account the cost to participants (less than $5) of purchasing the application and participants will receive instruction from the study Clinical Research Associate (CRA) in programming it to deliver audio and visual reminders when a dose of a scheduled oral medication is due and in entering a response to reminders received (medication taken, skipped, or re-reminder requested at a specific time interval). Participants will use the smartphone medication reminder application over an 8 week period for all scheduled oral medications to be taken while outpatient.

Detailed Description:

Non-adherence to oral medications is a prevalent problem in adolescents and young adults (AYA) with cancer that may impact both survival and quality of life while on treatment. The purpose of this study is to explore use of a smartphone medication reminder application to promote adherence to oral medications by AYA with cancer. The study's primary aim is to explore the feasibility and acceptability of using a smartphone medication reminder application to promote adherence to oral medications by AYA with cancer as well as to characterize application use. Secondary aims include: 1) to obtain initial estimates of intervention effect- measured by pre-intervention to post-intervention differences in perceived behavioral control for adherence, intention to adhere, and adherence behavior - to inform design of a future trial powered to detect a clinically significant effect of smartphone medication reminder application use on adherence to oral medications; and 2) to examine the relationships among perceived behavioral control for adherence, intention to adhere, and adherence behavior. A pre-post single group design will be used. Data will be collected weekly for 4 weeks before introduction of the intervention and for 8 weeks following introduction of the intervention. Analytic approaches will include descriptive statistics and GEE modeling.

Eligibility

Ages Eligible for Study:

15 Years to 29 Years

Genders Eligible for Study:

Both

Accepts Healthy Volunteers:

No

Criteria

Inclusion criteria:

1)15-29 year olds receiving treatment for any type of cancer, either primary or recurrent/relapsed disease, at Seattle Children's Hospital

2) Patient has completed at least one month of therapy

3)Patient is expected to remain on therapy for 3 month duration of study

4) Patient has an iPhone, iPad, or iTouch running iOS 4.0 or later

5) Patient is willing to use a smartphone medication reminder application-

Exclusion Criteria:

1)Patients who are unable to speak/read/write English as required for use of smartphone medication reminder application and completion of study measures.

Contacts and Locations

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To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the Contacts provided below.
For general information, see Learn About Clinical Studies.

Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01618344